Do we know of any succesfully healed buddies who are healed longterm?

[[Gw...]]

Katz,

 

Congratulations on your success as a writer! That is a dream of mine that seems so very far away right now. You're an inspiration.

 

Gwinna

[[or...]]

Gwinna, don't give up your dream!

 

You are very recently off your benzo. Things will get better and better and soon you will be able to re-connect with the "you" that you were before.

 

You could start by writing small things -- short essays. Even poetry.

 

When I was almost at the end of my taper, I was determined to re-connect with my writing skills so I wrote an essay about one of the drugs I had been on -- zyprexa. It was soooooo hard! I had to write down the point I was trying to make in every single paragraph because I could not keep it in my mind. What a labor. But I did it, and it gave me confidence that I could write other things.

 

Best to you, my friend. Let's write on!

 

 

Katz

[[Sa...]]

I’ve lost my creative writing ability and my extensive vocabulary.  I’m thinking it is temporary! 

 

SaraSue 

[[or...]]

Sara Sue, I bet it is temporaty. My skills came back. Ditto my creativity. Benzos do a number on our brains, alas. I'm thinking yours will recover as mine did.

 

Sending you good wishes and hugs,

 

 

Katz

[[Me...]]

Just found this wonderful YouTube presentation

I've sent away for his book - there are many YouTube and he is the U.S. answer to Ashton- very commonsensical and based on science-  highly recommend

[[Sa...]]

Katz,

 

Thank you.  Temporary ... healed ... my favorite new words!

 

SaraSue      My brain is mush ...

[[Le...]]

For  me dont have fully healed people! Have functional people who is good/better close to the normal condition but still experiencing some wave's or symphtoms. Especially when they are stressed from something. Yeah I believe in the  total healing after 8-10 years off! Other healed are just healed 90-95%. Pre benzo healed maybe after decade I am agree!

[[Le...]]

For  me dont have fully healed people! Have functional people who is good/better close to the normal condition but still experiencing some wave's or symphtoms. Especially when they are stressed from something. Yeah I believe in the  total healing after 8-10 years off! Other healed are just healed 90-95%. Pre benzo healed maybe after decade I am agree!

[[su...]]

oregonkatz congrats on yr award and writing again! I've also lost my creative writing ability which is the worst. It makes me so depressed. Its actually the main thing which made me sign up for this website but felt funny asking if it would come back. It will make me appreciate it so much more now if it comes back. I now see it as a greater gift I had that I was able to write and be creative in general. Creativity was such a huge part of me and I feel dumb now and lost my love for everything creative. I also used to def. fuel my creativity with coffee and 3 months out after coming off of clonazepam I still can't touch it. I can drink it but I end up in bed all day with anxiety after I crash and it sparks withdrawal symptoms for days after. Has anyone gotten their coffee drinking ability back?

[[or...]]

Yup! I got my coffee drinking ability back about a year ago. I loved coffee so much -- it about killed me to give it up during my taper.

 

I started back with decaf, then half-caf, then the Full Monty. I can't remember ever enjoying anything so much as my return to coffee. Interestingly (to me), I can drink also (wine) but that doesn't thrill me as much as coffee. I can take alcohol or leave it. I was brought up in France, so drinking wine was a part of my adult life, but after 4 + years without it, it's now meh.

 

So don't despair. You may get your coffee "chops" back. I get what you say about anxiety, though. Maybe start out with weenie coffee as I did. Decaf. I bought Swiss Water Process decaf -- it has absolutely no caffeine. I bought it online (amazon) from Stone Street Coffee. Mayan Water Process Decaf. Yum yum.

 

Also, don't despair about your writing abilities, either. Mine were lurking in there, just waiting for the last dregs of the stupid-making benzos to pack up camp and leave. It took longer than I would have thought, but, my stupidity gradually left me. Thank heavens!

 

Believe in yourself, my friend. I'm a novelist, but when I couldn't put plots together I joined the Oregon Poetry Association and started writing (don't laugh) haikus. I figured I could write something short -- after all, how hard could 17 syllables be? Well, it's darned hard, but it was writing and it kept me in touch with language. I went to the OPA meetings also, which was a great creative boost. I never did write any good poetry, but I listened to a lot! 

 

Live in hope, my friend. All things are possible without benzos.

 

 

Katz

[[su...]]

Thanks so much!

I love poetry and used to write much more of it when I was younger but moved on to writing fiction. Maybe I will go back to poetry even if it ends up being bad poetry.lol.

I will also try some decaf coffee while writing poetry.

[[or...]]

I will also try some decaf coffee while writing poetry.

 

 

Here's a bad coffee haiku. Just thought of it:

 

Coffee which we love

Fuels the muse within our souls:

Sometimes wonders come.

 

 

Katz

[[su...]]

HaHa! Nice! How beautiful especially since it involves coffee.

[[ba...]]

I drink coffee and smoke like a horse:)

[[su...]]

bazil4uk  Wow! How long after quitting were you able to drink coffee again?

[[Sa...]]

I don’t drink coffee, I drink Mountain Dew!!  It is not bothering me (in moderation).

 

SaraSue 

[[su...]]

wow! SaraSue I figure coffee is harder than sugar but I know sugar still brings up anxiety. One time I read mountain dew has as much sugar in it as you see liquid. I don't know if thats true but thats impressive you can drink that in withdrawal still. I guess I'm pretty sensitive.

[[Sa...]]

Sunlit,

 

Mountain Dew is full of sugar and caffeine!  I’ve been lucky in that I can eat/drink everything (when I can eat) I did before.  Good thing as eating is difficult and I am a picky eater.  My sxs are so bad, I’m not sure I’d notice if they were worse. 

 

Hoping everyone can drink coffee soon!

 

SaraSue

[[bo...]]

Here he goes again. Have you read the success stories on this very forum? I have spoken with people over the phone who got better, including multiple life coaches who went through benzo withdrawal themselves.

[[Sa...]]

Boom,

 

We’re any CT??

 

 

[[bo...]]

Yes, read the success stories and you can find them. My comment was intended for a member who deleted their comment. There is a member that comes in every like couple months and just craps all over people in distress who are very early in withdrawal. H11989. Something like that.

[[Be...]]

Yes, people fully recover. I think the day you are 100% recovered you suddenly stop caring about Benzobuddies. That means we often don't hear from those who have recovered. They move on. Ashton did a study on this subject. 48% was fully recovered and 22% was living their life as normal but had some symptoms.

https://www.benzo.org.uk/ashbzoc.htm

 

That's definitely Not a good news from Ashton's study. I heard many people here on benzobuddies say that almost all people heal. But referring to Ashton's study it's scary to know that Only 48% fully heal from this sh!t. 22% heal but will never return 100% normal and probably will suffer from mental symptoms for the rest of their lives. What about the remaining 30%? Do they remain in hell for the rest of their lives? Or die early on in the process?

[[Fo...]]

I respect her (Dr A) tremendously and in the 80s she was running busy clinics and certainly got good data.

But

I strongly believe the stats are much better with the growth of self help groups and support.

CBT has improved since then, and our understanding and therefore confidence in brain plasticity make me think that with hard work the vast majority of us will heal.

 

At least I live in hope and I’ve been medicated for 51 years or more but have seen improvement already even in taper.

Dick. Warm wishes

[[or...]]

But referring to Ashton's study it's scary to know that Only 48% fully heal from this sh!t. 22% heal but will never return 100% normal and probably will suffer from mental symptoms for the rest of their lives.

 

Which study of Ashton's was this? I guess I missed it. Could you provide the reference?

 

Thank you.

 

Katz

[[Be...]]

But referring to Ashton's study it's scary to know that Only 48% fully heal from this sh!t. 22% heal but will never return 100% normal and probably will suffer from mental symptoms for the rest of their lives.

 

Which study of Ashton's was this? I guess I missed it. Could you provide the reference?

 

Thank you.

 

Katz

 

Just see what I quoted!